It’s been 50 years since the McNichols Building has been open to the public, and last week several hundred civic leaders were treated to a mid-project look at the handsome Greek Revival structure that will be the principal venue for Biennial of the Americas, a month-long “World’s Fair of art and ideas” expected to once again put Denver in the international spotlight.
Biennial of the Americas opens July 1, and the 28,000-square-foot McNichols Building will host “The Nature of Things,” central exhibit in the comprehensive showcase of what lead curator Paola Santoscoy describes as “never before seen contemporary arts and cultural programming from countries thoughout the Americas.”
Mayor John Hickenlooper told guests that the Biennial will be “The most important international event held here since the Summit of the Eight. The best way to build bridges of understanding is through culture, and the Biennial will deepen our connection to our neighbors and work to build a shared vision for the hemisphere.”
But beyond all of that, Hickenlooper said, the celebration will “Put this magnificent building back into public use. It will breathe life back into Civic Center Park, and that is very important for Denver.”
The McNichols Building began as a Carnegie Library and then was used for municipal office space.
“The empty interior shell of the McNichols Building will be the hub of the Biennial of the Americas, demonstrating, in the short-term, the kind of cultural programming and energy this building could inspire,” adds Lindy Eichenbaum-Lent, who heads the Civic Center Conservancy.Blake Skinner, Chris Frampton, Christy Owen, Jill Dines and Marcela de la Mar chaired the Hard Hat Gala; honorary chairmen were Mexican Consul Eduardo Arnal, Canadian Consul Dale Eisler and Hickenlooper.
Working with a bare-bones budget, Bradley Joseph of Silver Spur Productions enlisted a cadre of volunteers to make the empty interior more party-friendly. The Museum of Outdoor Arts, members of the Book Babes book club and artist Lonnie Hanzon all pitched in. “Putting this together was like one of those design-on-a-dime reality shows,” Joseph confided. “But you’ve got to admit it looks pretty good.”
Mezcal, Great Northern Tavern, Famous Dave’s and Three Tomatoes all supplied food, and the entertainment included music by DJ RIPM and DJ Shake One — plus a surprise appearance by the guerilla concert band Boba Fete.
Comfortable clothing was encouraged and several of the 494 guests were costumed according to the theme. Lois Paul, for example, wore an orange reflective vest, rhinestone-studded safety goggles and a feather boa (“For good measure,” she said). Her purse: A hard hat carried upside down.
Air Force Academy physics professor Mark Mayer secured an oversize pinwheel to the top of his hard hat.
Renovation architect Mike Moore was there, along with several members of the Denver City Council, City Auditor Dennis Gallagher, state Sen. Chris Romer and such civic figures as Kevin Patterson, James Mejia, Jim Polsfut, Elbra Wedgeworth, Fabby Hillyard, Jayne Buck, Donna Good, Erin Trapp, Jill Crow, Tom Botelho, Zee Ferrufino, Jose Mercado, Lonnie Hanzon, Tom Gougeon, Cynthia Madden Leitner, Doug Jackson, Lee McIntyre, Luella Chavez D’Angelo, Elaine Asarch, Dr. Dean Prina and Myles Mendoza.
Also, Paul Esserman, Dave McKlveen, Deidre Toltz, Matt Keeney, Amy Harmon, Felicia Diamond, BJ Dyer, Guenther Vogt, Peggy Beck, Jonathan Alpert, Will LaBahn, Chris Meza, Brian Jacobson, Tim Connors, Bobbi Walker, Tracy Shaffer and Veronica Montoya.

OK, so maybe there’s no such thing as a free lunch. But a free concert? You betcha.
Actor Gary Sinise (“Forrest Gump,” “CSI NY”) brought his Lt. Dan Band to Denver on Saturday night to headline a concert in Civic Center Park. He shared the Greek Amphitheater stage with local favorite Opie Gone Bad, whose frontman, Jake Shroeder, invited 9News entertainment reporter Kirk Montgomery, no slouch in the vocals department, to reprise a couple of the numbers he had performed with the band at Red Rocks earlier this summer.
And, had it not been for Montgomery, “Saturday Night Alive” alum Victoria Jackson might have been escorted from the premises by the event’s security detail. In town for a Comedy Works gig, Jackson was walking near the park with promoter Mel Gibson when Montgomery spotted her and said she should come on over for the concert. When he told her that her pal Sinise was headlining, she got so excited that she rushed into the pre-concert VIP party to look for him. Her enthusiasm, needless to say, caught security’s attention, but Montgomery quickly vouched for her and all was well.
Sinise, in fact, was more than generous with his time that night. Before performing for an hour, he mixed and mingled with the 200 VIPs that had been invited to enjoy a cool beverage and bite to eat before the show.
Chairman Dean Prina, fresh from a vacation trip to China, joined Civic Center Conservancy executive director Lindy Eichenbaum Lent and board president Chris Frampton in welcoming a group that included the CCC’s founding president, Elaine Asarch, and her husband, Dr. Richard Asarch; Mayor John Hickenlooper with son, Teddy; state Sen. Chris Romer and wife, Laurie; City Council president Jeanne Robb; city council members Peggy Lehmann and Doug Linkhart; City Auditor Dennis Gallagher with Dutchess Scheitler; City Librarian Shirley Amore and husband, John; and Elaine Mariner, executive director of Colorado Council on the Arts.
Frampton’s wife, Yvette Pita Frampton, was there, too, along with such CCC board members as Sunny Brownstein, Ruth Falkenberg, Dennis Humphries, Brian Stein, Marcus Pachner and Susan Kirk, and ex officio board members Bridget Fisher and Mark Bernstein.Kelly Brough, who is stepping down as Hickenlooper’s chief of staff to head the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, was there, too, along with Children’s Museum president Tom Downey and his wife, Lori Fox, a member of the Denver Commission of Cultural Affairs; lobbyist Maria Garcia Berry; Colorado Business Committee for the Arts head Deborah Jordy and her husband, University of Denver professor Jonathan Adelman; Cydney and Tom Marsico; Patricia Barela Rivera; Arlene and Barry Hirschfeld; J Madden and Linda Poletti; and Jose Mercado, an actor, drama professor (CU-Denver) and founder of the nonprofit Labyrinth Arts Academy that is having a benefit food and tequila tasting Aug. 19 at the historic D&F Clocktower.
Other familiar faces in the crowd: Susan and Howard Noble; Betsy Mordecai; Mickey Ackerman; Michelle and John Hanley; Cindy, Steve and Drennen Schulz; Hanna and Mark Shaner; Caz Matthews and Jeff Rouse; Susan and Steve Hagar; Maureen Brooks, whose Brooks, Intl. booked Sinise and his band; and CBS 4 medical editor Dr. Dave Hnida, who emceed the show.
The Civic Center Conservancy was formed in 2004 to restore and enhance one of Denver’s neglected treasures, the 16-acre Civic Center Park. The transformation will take time, Asarch noted. “We’re moving in baby steps,” she said, “but that’s good because everything is being well thought out. Look at Central Park, Battery Park in New York. Their transformations were spectacular, but they took 10 or 12 years to accomplish.”

Study after study has shown that when it comes to charitable fundraisers, Denver has more per capita than any comparably sized city in the nation. Joanne Davidson has been covering them for The Denver Post since 1985, coming here from her native California where she'd spent the previous seven years as San Francisco bureau chief for U.S. News & World Report magazine.